Rage 2 is officially official, and its first trailer is weird as hell

The first official Rage 2 trailer has arrived after a week of unlikely leaks and odd teases and it's colorful, not just in the vibrant sense. The reveal trailer features zero footage from the game but it does serve as a nice thematic intro. If the original Rage was like Tom Hardy in Mad Max: Fury Road then Rage 2 is more like Tina Turner in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome: loud, stylish, and with an utter disregard for the value of human life.

Bethesda says it's saving the official gameplay reveal for 7am PDT / 10 am EST / 3 pm BST on Tuesday, May 15. So what can we tell from these heavily post-processed scenes of live-action actors with bad teeth and big guns? Well, it looks like you'll still fight creepy mutants out in the wasteland with your "wingstick," AKA a bladed boomerang.

What about the driving? Vehicular races and battles were a big part of the original Rage. For better or worse, the game's heavy emphasis on car combat still sets it apart from other post-apocalyptic shooters. Looks like that's sticking around, too - the trailer begins with a first-person view of climbing into a jury-rigged car and some painted-up wheels spinning. The baby-doll-head shifter knob is a nice touch, too.

Last up… Rage 2 is gonna be weird. Or at least, it had better be. Plenty of games have explored Mad Max-inspired wastelands since the original Rage came out in 2011 - including an actual Mad Max game. With this mood-setting trailer, Bethesda's promising a different kind of post-apocalypse that's a bit more Tank Girl than grim survival. That kind of aesthetic is easy to tease in a 52-second trailer but more difficult to maintain for a full-length game, so we'll see more of what Rage 2 does with it after the gameplay debut on Tuesday.

Want to see what else is on the horizon? Check out our list of E3 2018 games to watch.